Verdict: The Wolverine is much better than its previous installment. Though the finale might not be up to the mark, the story is absorbing and the action is entertaining. Hugh Jackman's convincing performance makes it a must w...more

Verdict: The Wolverine is much better than its previous installment. Though the finale might not be up to the mark, the story is absorbing and the action is entertaining. Hugh Jackman's convincing performance makes it a must watch. less

Plot: Logan begins a forbidden romance with a Japanese woman whose hand in marriage is, unfortunately, promised to another man. Since Logan won't take "no" for an answer, it puts him into battle with her father and her samurai-sword-wielding brothers and Silver Samurai.

The good news is that Wolverine finally gets the film he deserves. The bad news is that in these times when films like Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 ...
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The good news is that Wolverine finally gets the film he deserves. The bad news is that in these times when films like Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 are recognized as great superhero films, this one may not get the amount of love it deserves. I hope it will but I won’t be surprised if people don’t warm up to it. This year’s other two superhero films were all right, bigger in scale but just not awesome enough. Actually, they weren’t films in the first place. One was an action montage and the other a slight comedy. The Wolverine is a film, it tells a story with characters it makes you care for. Better still, there are scenes with good dialogue.

This time the action shifts to 21st century Japan (but begins with the 20th century). Samurais – check. Yakuza – check. Ninjas – check. While the plot of the film or even its originality isn’t its biggest asset, the merits of this film outnumber the minuses, the prime one being its earnestness. As far as real action is concerned, there is one scene atop a bullet train that is wonderfully thrilling and fun. There are also fight scenes that involve you as a viewer. The best part is that the action doesn’t exist for the sake of it.

I was most impressed by James Mangold’s decision to make this a quieter film when he could have easily made an ‘Adamantium claws vs. Samurai blade’ slam-bam action film. Visually, the film has a terrific combination of it being dark yet not joyless. Japan is filmed in all its exotic glory like how it would exist in a comic book. Or probably something straight out of a Jidaigeki. The dark element does not come from how the film looks or how heavily gloomy the music is but by the character and his complexities. Surface level stuff, but passable.

The film begins with Logan (Hugh Jackman) saving the life of a Japanese officer, Yashida, after the bombing of Nagasaki. Yashida wishes to see him once before he passes on and offers him the gift of mortality. (A quick recap – Wolverine is probably 256 years old and is immortal). The Wolverine is indestructible. He doesn’t feel pain and can never get killed. He is a mutant with adamantium claws. This film turns it all on its head. His immortality is at risk. He is in pain through most of the film. Blind fans may not be happy seeing their favorite mutant slowly becoming powerless but I was happy that we get to see him being vulnerable and not laboriously fight through a film and bore us on the way like the Origins film did. We don’t want to see him as weak but we want to see him bounce back. It’s like a spring that goes two ways and not only one.

The film is essentially about Logan trying to move on from his past. The things that bind him. Be it his attachment to Jean Grey or the burden of his powers. There are 3 other female characters in the film. A villainess - Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), a love interest- Mariko (Tao Okamato) and a red-haired mutant- Yukio (Rila Fukushima) who can see the future (and thank god we don’t see her visions in weird effects-heavy flashes). It’s been a long time since we had a diabolic villainess. She may be one-dimensional but exactly the sweet poison required. Yukio is a sort of sidekick to the Wolverine and not in a bad way. There is a scene where she perfoms her duties while Logan performs an open heart surgery that is more thrilling than any thunderous climactic showdown.

The ending is like how it should be. No big explosions, no destruction. Only man-to-man combat. (Or woman to man and other permutations). Yes, the final half hour does not match up to the rest of the film but I was rather pleased at not being bombarded with mindless action. And then there is the Silver Samurai who gets his share of being badass.

When the film is wrapped up, we get a post-credits scene that would have all X-Men fans collectively salivating. I’m not the biggest fan of the series but even I felt like I was handed a massive treat. Please do not leave your seat and wait till the main end credits are done. The wait for X-Men: Days of Future Past begins!

The Wolverine isn’t as good as X2 (2003) or X-Men: First Class (2011) but hey, at least it isn’t X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). For my money, it is the most satisfying superhero film of 2013 so far.

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When the loudest cheer comes during the end credits scene you know something didn’t work in the film you just saw. The wolverine is another ...
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When the loudest cheer comes during the end credits scene you know something didn’t work in the film you just saw. The wolverine is another addition to the dark and brooding theme of the lead hero struggling with his inner demons and a troubled past. It looks like our superheroes are in a desperate need to visit a shrink. Where’s the fun I say?

Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has cut himself from the world and is living like a cave man. Until, Yukio (Rila Fukushima) drops in to take him to Tokyo to say goodbye to an old dying friend Yashida(Hal Yamanouchi) whose life he had saved several years back. Once there he gets involved with their politics in which everyone is after Yashida’s granddaughter Mariko(Tao Okamoto). He has to protect her at any cost while dealing with his own demons.

By setting the film in Japan director James Mangold(Knight and Day, Walk the Line) makes it look beautiful with some exquisite production design (Francois Audouy).The houses shown are a sight to behold. The action set pieces are nice especially one on the bullet train. The film is well shot and ably directed but not the Wolverine I walked in to watch. This is not a Wolverine for the kids. Amongst all this serious plot set ups the director seems to have forgotten to have fun with the character.

Wolverine does not even get a strong nemesis to fight against. The entire love track between him and Tao Okamoto is Lolitaisque and looks forced. Technically in the film she is supposed to be his granddaughter’s age. Writers Mark Bomback (Total Recall), Scott Frank(Minority Report, Out of Sight) and Christopher McQuarrie(Jack Reacher, The Usual Suspects) structure the story well enough to keep you engaged but somehow forget that this is supposed to be an action flick. There are plenty of films that have ninja fighting and samurai fights, what’s missing here are some new tricks.

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Easily the most popular and recognisable character within the X-Men franchise onscreen , the clawed mutant with an anger management issue has achie...
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Easily the most popular and recognisable character within the X-Men franchise onscreen , the clawed mutant with an anger management issue has achieved cult status thanks in a large part to actor Hugh Jackman. After the critical mauling he received in the first solo outing, Jackman has tried to make amends with the latest effort and it shows. Director James Mangold who’s crafted some terrific movies in the past including the much underrated action/thriller ‘3:10 to Yuma’ builds upon a minimalist story to bring a superhero movie that is quite a different beast from the bombastic shenanigans associated with its ilk. It won’t be far off to call it a contemporary noir-thriller.

Logan (Hugh Jackman) after the events of the third movie has been living off the grid in the wilderness. His only companions are a grizzly bear and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) who appears only in his dreams which always turn to nightmares. Though he’s taken a vow to never hurt anyone again, a run-in with some drunk hunters, nearly unleashes the beast within him, only to be stopped by Yukio (Rila Fukushima), who’s been trying to locate Logan for nearly a year now. Yukio’s employer, Ichiro Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), is grateful to Logan for having saved his life all those years ago at Nagasaki when the atomic bomb was dropped and now wishes to repay his debt by taking what Logan feels is a burden; his healing powers and immortality. Logan refuses and Ichiro passes away soon after but not before naming his granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto), as the heir to his colossal business empire rather than his ambitious son, Shingen Yashida (Hiroyuki Sanada). The real bummer however is the fact that Logan starts to feel weaker and his healing seems to get slower than before leaving him quite vulnerable, added to that are the various factions trying to attack Mariko. Now Logan and Mariko have to figure out not only who wants Mariko dead but also how Logan can get his powers back and does he want them back?

The movie opens with a spellbinding recreation of the Nagasaki bombing and never lets off after that. All of the fight sequences are good but two in particular stand out, one being on a bullet train and another involving a dying Logan, being protected by Yukio in a swordfight. The final faceoff against the Silver Samurai is surprising in its brutality. It’s a no-holds barred fight that doesn’t hold back anything.

Hugh Jackman gets to sink his claws into a role that’s meaty again after having played a cigar chomping, one-liner spouting caricature for the past two outings. There is a real dilemma for him to struggle with and a real pain to overcome. Even the theme of coming to terms with his purpose is quite a satisfying journey and far from emotional overkill. By far the most impressive thing was that he’s not an invincible fighting machine here and can take some real damage, right through the movie.

Svetlana Khodchenkova’s biochemist is easily one of the highlights of the movie and is such a seductive villain that’s it’s a shame we don’t get more of her character. Her portrayal is everything that Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy should have been. Rila Fukushima and Tao Okamoto, both early in their careers are quite good in roles that are far from one note.

The important aspect of Wolverine is provide a much needed retrospective to the titular character and understand what makes him tick. This movie is like that serene calm before the storm hits, and that storm I speak about would be next year’s ‘Days of the Future Past’ which would be more of an epic action movie that wouldn’t allow the writers to do justice to the character like this movie has. This is the movie that we deserved the first time around.